From Latin 'monumentum' (instrument of reminding), from 'monere' (to remind) — a device for keeping something in mind.
A statue, building, or other structure erected to commemorate a notable person or event; something that serves as a lasting reminder or evidence.
From Old French 'monument' (11th century), from Latin 'monumentum' (a memorial, a reminder, a record), a contraction of 'monimentum,' from 'monēre' (to warn, to advise, to remind), from PIE *men- (to think, to remember). The Latin suffix '-mentum' denotes the instrument or result of an action, so a 'monumentum' is literally 'the instrument of reminding.' In Medieval Latin, the word also meant 'a burial place,' a sense preserved in some European languages